Dig A Hole
by Poisonfish
Summary: He knew, he just knew that she wasn't one that anyone normally trifled with. She was used to getting it all her way, no questions asked. And if she said not to do something, you didn't do it. It was law. And he was breaking it. AU, T to be safe.


_A/N: This story is AU. :)_

**Summary:** He knew, he just _knew_ that she wasn't one that anyone normally trifled with. She was used to getting it all her way, no questions asked. And if she said not to do something, you didn't do it. It was law. And he was breaking it. He allowed his smirk to grow at her narrowed violet eyes that showed a mix of anger, danger, and surprise. He didn't take crap from _anybody._

**Disclaimer:**_(This goes for all future chapters!)_ I do not own Bleach, never have, and never will! :)

CHAPTER ONE: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

"I can't believe this," Ichigo grumbled as he pushed another oar into the water with a sharp jerk.

"Idiot! Don't do that! You'll flip us over!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes at this and did it again, just to annoy his rowing partner. The canoe shuddered threateningly, and the girl in the front let out a small scream. Her arms flailed and grasped firmly on the boat as it steadied itself, and once she was sure it wasn't going to kick her out, she turned to face behind her and gave Ichigo an fiery glare.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" she demanded angrily, letting her oar lay across the canoe's front.

Ichigo smirked. "Rocking the boat." He praised himself on the great pun.

Yes, it was a great pun. He knew, he just _knew_ that she wasn't one that anyone normally trifled with. She was used to getting it all her way, no questions asked. And if she said not to do something, you didn't do it. It was law. And he was breaking it. He was rocking the boat. Both literally and figuratively. He allowed his smirk to grow at her narrowed violet eyes that showed a mix of anger, danger, and surprise.

He didn't take crap from _anybody._

Not even snobby, rich, albeit _attractive_ midgets like _her._

Rukia Kuchiki.

She was the most arrogant person alive. Well, maybe second only to him, but he was allowed to be arrogant. But _her_! She was always demanding the attention of anyone and everyone around her. She was stuck up. She was a downright _snob_. Sure, her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, happened to be not only the biggest business mogul in Karakura, but also the single richest man alive. That doesn't mean that his sister was. And it _certainly_ didn't mean that she got to be the way that she was.

And sure, she was mildly attractive. _Okay,_ Ichigo admitted begrudgingly to himself. _She's more than mildly attractive._ Truth was, she was beautiful. Her eyes were amethyst and sparkling violet mixed together. They were pools to be lost in, and they often were- by other guys, that is. Not _him._ Never him. He knew better.

But her eyes were only the start of it. Her hair was shiny black and short, not like most of the girls at Karakura High. And there was one stubborn bang that refused to stay out of her face... Before Ichigo knew better, _oh_ so long ago, he had wanted desperately to swipe that bang from her face gently before staring into the depths of her sparkling eyes, so deep that he could never resurface. But that was long ago, and Ichigo was smarter now, wiser. He knew the truth about the black-haired beauty; she was the Devil incarnate. And just because she was beautiful didn't mean that she got to treat guys the ways she did. Ichigo shuddered as he remembered an incident last Friday when Rukia had kicked a guy in the nuts just because he told her that she looked nice that day.

She wasn't perfect. _Her body left _much_ to be desired, _Ichigo reminded himself before his brain could tell him otherwise. She was short. Not just short, she was _tiny._ Even with heels on, she didn't even reach five foot. _Without _the heels, she was only four foot eight. A legal midget. Of course, she would never admit that. _She's too proud_, Ichigo thought bitterly.

Other than her height, she was, well, underdeveloped. Sure, some girls in their school were, but you could just _tell_ that she was done growing curve-wise. Not that he really cared, of course. He wasn't a pervert, closet or otherwise. He was just a teenage boy that didn't think much of girls yet. _In other words, a prude,_ his mind spat out before he reprimanded it harshly.

Well, there was this one girl, once. She had been a picture of perfection in every way. She was beautiful, her skin milky and smooth, her hair shiny and black, and her eyes amethyst pools. But then he had met her. And from then on, he knew that she would never be desirable in any sense of the word for him ever again.

It had lasted for a month. His infatuation, that is. He would see her, here and there, all over town. In the bookstore, browsing the manga section. At the coffee shop with her new friends, sipping an iced mocha. On the bus, nodding her head to the beat of her music and softly mouthing along.

He was mesmerized by this girl. The one strand of hair that refused to sweep, the rose-pink lips that seemed softer than soft, the creamy, milky white skin that reminded him of snow, and the eyes. Forever the eyes.

She had simply appeared one day. He had been sitting at the park, reading some of his favorite Shakespearian works. And then he saw her, a vision in a blue dress, skipping through the park, her head thrown back in laughter. There didn't appear to be anyone with her, she just seemed to be laughing for the fun of it. And to Ichigo, that had been the most beautiful thing of all. _She was probably laughing at the expense of some poor kid dropping his ice cream on the floor or something,_ Ichigo thought bitterly.

Uryu Ishida, one of Ichigo's best friends, had suggested he talk to the mystery girl when he had started to see her on a regular basis, but Ichigo had refused. _"I don't even know her name!" he had protested. "It'd be weird! Besides, I am not obsessed with her."_

It was only when school started up again after summer break that he heard her name.

Rukia Kuchiki.

She had moved here with her brother, the famous Byakuya Kuchiki. The reason was unknown, but there were rumors. Hisana Kuchiki, Byakuya's wife and Rukia's sister, had been rumored to leave them, go crazy, or die. There were other rumors, too, though slightly more ridiculous: they were being stalked by fans or beggars, running from the police, or that they had been discovered as robots trying to take over the world. The last of these was thought up by Orihime Inoue, so it was bound to be completely insane.

Whatever the reason, they were there now. When Ichigo finally got the gumption to talk to her, mostly because his teacher had assigned them to a group project together during class, he realized who the real Rukia Kuchiki was and that the Rukia Kuchiki he had made up in his head (compassionate, lovable, happy-go-lucky but still feisty) did not exist.

"_H-hey," Ichigo said nervously, cursing himself inwardly for stuttering in front of her as he sat down._

"_Hello," Rukia had replied in a clipped, short tone. Ichigo hadn't cared; he figured that she was just the down-to-business type._

_He ran a hand through his orange locks and let out a shaky laugh. "So... this project, huh?" When he didn't receive a response, he stuck out a hand to her politely. "I'm Ichigo by the way. Ichigo Kurosaki."_

_Rukia gave him a once-over and raised an eyebrow before shrugging and grasping his hand firmly and giving it a short, sturdy shake. "I'm Rukia Kuchiki."_

"_Nice to meet you." Ichigo gave her a rare smile, but all she gave him in return was a small grunt and nod in acknowledgement. The boy's smile faltered slightly, but he shook it off and turned to his text book. He opened it to the assigned page and slid it slightly closer to his new partner._

_She dutifully took out a piece of paper and began taking notes, completely ignoring the teen by her side. Ichigo began to read as well, but he couldn't take the silence. He had _finally_ gotten a chance to speak with this girl without it seeming creepy or weird. He wasn't going to waste it._

"_So... are you a fan of history?" he asked, looking up from the text to see her do the same._

_Rukia looked at him for a moment as if appraising him before setting down her pencil and turning completely to face him. She folded her hands in her lap in a very business-like manner and looked him straight in the eye. Ichigo could feel his cheeks warm up when he realized that he was now staring into the violet pools he had been dreaming about for weeks. He was shaken from his thoughts, however, when she spoke._

_Her tone was cold as ice and her eyes had lost all warmth. Her words were clipped and harsh, and for some reason, probably because he had been obsessing over her for the past month, they stung more than any insult he had taken before._

"_Listen, _Ichigo._" She seemed to bore her ice-cold eyes into his even farther as she spat out his name like it tasted bad. "I don't want to be here. I don't want to do this. I want to be back in my hometown where I should be, but due to certain _reasons_," she paused, "I can't. The only reason I'm here now is because my brother is hanging on by a thread, and I don't want that thread to break just because I'm too emotional to be able to do schoolwork."_

_She leaned over slightly and Ichigo shrank back. Her eyes narrowed before she spoke again. "Now. I don't know you, and frankly, I don't want to. The last person I want to befriend is some punk who failed clown school," she flicked his hair mockingly, "and is named after a _fruit._"_

_She was actually standing now, her hands on each side of him. Even though she was the same height as he was sitting down, Ichigo felt himself feeling intimidated by this girl he had obviously built too much hope on._

_She leaned in close and lowered her voice to a dangerously low, breathy whisper. "So, leave me alone, don't talk to me, don't look at me, and let's just get this stupid project done as soon as freaking possible, okay, _Kurosaki_?" She said his name with malice enough to kill every flower on the premises... and probably did._

_When he didn't answer, she allowed a small smirk to appear on her face and sat back down. "That's what I thought," she said before picking her pencil up again and taking more notes._

Once he had recovered from the shock of it all, Ichigo had let a few choice words (mostly aimed at her character) slip and from there it was history- they were enemies.

That had been almost a full year ago. School had just been starting up again, and, since they had the same teachers for the most part, their rivalry was a well-known fact among the staff. That's why, for some reason, for their class trip, their teachers had thought it was a good idea to pair the two of them up. For every activity.

Including the three-day canoe trip, which consisted of camping in a tent together at night and spending every hour of the day in each other's company. Yeah, it was pretty much torture.

Ichigo could only dream of the day they got to go back to Karakura and be as far apart as they possibly could for as long as they could possibly want. No more irritating midgets, no more out-of-the-blue screaming, no more _her._

"Are you even listening to me, Strawberry?"

Ichigo was jerked out of his silent musings by her harsh, irritable voice. With a scowl, the orange-headed teen glared at her with malice.

"Don't call me 'Strawberry,' Midget," he growled before his frown disappeared and a smirk took its place. "And for the record, no, I wasn't listening to your annoying man-voice at all."

Ichigo forced his scowl/smirk combination to remain constant as he watched the petite girl's expression change from annoyance to surprise and then to complete and utter rage.

"You- you complete- ARG!" Rukia yelled, her face becoming more and more red with anger. "I can't _believe_ I'm stuck with you for three whole freaking days!" she spat, violently throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.

"Believe me, princess, it's no picnic for me, either," Ichigo assured her quietly, lifting up his oar for another stroke. He rowed carefully this time; despite his earlier behavior, he didn't really like the idea of ending up in the river, either.

Rukia flashed him a mock smile. "Oh, that's so great to hear, _Kurosaki-kun,"_ she said in a high-pitched, fake voice.

She knew he hated that voice. She _knew._ Grimacing, Ichigo got her back the only way he could think of: he shifted his weight side to side, causing the canoe to violently jerk back and forth.

A shriek escaped her lips before she grabbed onto the sides of the canoe, her knuckles turning white as she did so, as if holding onto it would prevent it from flipping over.

"ICHIGO!" she bellowed angrily as her oar fell into the river and drifted slowly away.

Said teen smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry, _Rukia,_ I was ever so uncomfortable." His voice mimicked her fake one as he forced an equally fake smile to his face. Actually, it wasn't overly difficult, seeing as he accomplished his goal of getting back at the midget.

Rukia shot him a dark look but didn't send an insult back. Instead she shrugged and crossed her arms over her small chest, looking forward stubbornly. "Oh, well. You got what you deserved. Now you have to do all the rowing _and_ steering by yourself."

"It's not like you were doing anything before," Ichigo replied immediately, not missing the opportunity to insult his sworn enemy.

"Why you-!" Rukia glowered. However, it seemed as though she couldn't find an insult great enough, and ended up settling for telling him to 'shut his trap, or reap the consequences.'

"Che," Ichigo said nonchalantly. "Whatever." Silently, he pushed the oar deeply into the water and they surged forward.

* * *

><p>Rukia sat stubbornly at the head of the canoe, arms folded over her lap as the buffoon behind her pushed them forward with yet another smooth row.<p>

_He's actually pretty good at this,_ she thought. _He's really strong. Well, he does have the biceps to prove it._ The thought slipped out before she could help it, but she quickly berated herself before her brain could go any further.

It didn't work, however, as she imagined him in full as she had seen him the other day after his soccer practice. He had been sweaty and wearing only a pair of shorts and a tank top. He was _toned_.

_Shut up,_ she told her brain. However, her mind interfered. _It's not like I _like_ him, _ she reasoned, _I just like how he _looks._ Nothing wrong with that. I can appreciate that he's attractive and still hate his guts. It's not like there's anything else to do right now, since that idiot made me lose my oar._

So yes, Ichigo was attractive. _All _right,she allowed begrudgingly,_ he's freaking _ closed her eyes and imagined him again with a smile. He was slim but muscular, really, _really_ muscular. And he wore enough tight clothes to prove it. She wondered mildly if he was gay, but quickly dismissed the idea. There was simply no _way._

_Well,_ her reasonable side spoke up,_ he isn't exactly _friendly_ with girls. And I don't think he's ever had a girlfriend, either._ Rukia simply shrugged. It didn't matter to her if he was gay or not, she had no interest in him whatsoever. He was a self-centered, arrogant jerk that deserved to be forever alone.

But what a _waste_ that would be! She silently mourned the loss of such a great-looking body to the personality of a pig. If only he could be decent, then she might actually-

_STOP RIGHT THERE!_ she commanded silently, snapping her eyes open. _You can appreciate his gorgeous body and awesome hair, but do _not_ go wishing he were yours._

Ah, yes, his hair. When she had first met him, she thought his hair to be dyed and completely hideous. But when she had learned from Orihime that it was, in fact, completely natural, she had begun to see it in a new light.

It was a breathtaking shade of orange, not something commonly seen among her classmates. The closest to that shade would be Orihime herself, but even her hair wasn't quite as _vibrant _as his was. It reminded her of tangerines, and once, when she had leaned in to whisper a dangerous threat in his ear, she had caught a whiff of its scent: the small citrus fruit itself. To say she loved that fruit was an understatement.

But his hair wasn't the only appealing aspect of his appearance. He had a strong jaw line and a Greek nose, both attributes she had always appreciated in males. And once, just once, when they had first met, she had seen his smile. It was beautiful, astounding, even, and she didn't understand why he didn't smile more often. It did wonders for his stupid face.

Instead, he always had a scowl on his face, which accomplished nothing but scrunching up his otherwise good looks. She absently wondered if he thought it made him look tough, and quietly laughed to herself. _As if,_ she thought. If it made him look anything, it would be stupid.

_His eyes, though,_ she thought, her laughter coming to an end. That's right, his eyes. They were definitely her favorite aspect of his appearance. At first glance, one might assume that they were brown, but the fact was that they weren't.

No, they were an interesting mix of honey and amber. And somehow, they always appeared to be burning, melting. They were always intense and... and beautiful. She had learned not to look him in the eye when they were arguing, because she found herself forgetting everything when she was staring into those honeyed pools.

At first, she had thought that he had looked like Kai- _him,_ she chided herself forcefully. But the truth was, he didn't really at all. Sure, their hair had the same disheveled, spiky look to it. And sure, they both had that same face structure. But in all honesty, they couldn't be more different.

Perhaps it was the mixture of their personalities with their physical attributes. Or perhaps it was just because he had looked enough like _him_ when she first moved here to set her off. Perhaps that's why she had been so hard on him at first.

She knew that much was true. She almost, _almost_ felt bad about it, but then she reminded herself how he had reacted to her little speech, and immediately felt that it had, indeed, been justified. He obviously had a temper, and a bad one at that. He was rude and undignified and cruel, too.

Once she had mentioned this to Orihime, wondering _what_ that girl saw in him. The auburn-haired teen's eyes had widened and she shook her hands vigorously.

"_Oh, no, Kuchiki-san, he's not any of those things! Kurosaki-kun is kindhearted and caring and warm and considerate and good and unselfish and-"_

"_Okay, okay, Orihime, I get it. You think he's wonderful. But he's not! He's mean and spiteful and has one heck of a temper," she protested stubbornly, unable to see the things her busty friend did._

"_No, Kuchiki-san-"_

"_Call me 'Rukia'."_

"_No, Rukia, he's not. He really is really good-natured, he just has an odd way of showing it."_

The petite raven-haired teen thought about this for a while. Her mind went back to the day they had officially met. He had been nice enough then- before she had cut off his balls and put them on a platter for him, that is. She smirked that that thought, but it slowly disappeared as she thought how things might've been different if she had been friendly towards him upon their first meeting.

They'd be friends, perhaps. Maybe even best friends. It was obvious they were enough alike. And maybe... maybe they would've gotten romantic. Rukia shuddered as she thought about his lips on hers and quickly banished the thought. It was ridiculous. She and Ichigo would've been enemies even if she had returned the favor at their first encounter. It just would've taken a bit longer. She mentally praised herself for speeding up the process.

"Oi, Rukia, are you ready to stop for the night?" Ichigo spoke up from behind her, causing her to jump slightly.

She recovered by turning and smirking at him. "Tired already, are we, Strawberry?"

"Wha-? NO! It's just that it'll be getting dark soon and we still have to put up the tent and find something to eat and everything..." Ichigo self-consciously itched the nape of his neck and looked away, his face turning more and more red each second.

"Sure, sure," she mumbled, her lip curling more as she turned back to face front. "Okay, we can stop for the night. Wherever you can find an opening, that is."

She scanned the river's banks, looking for any sort of shore that they could pull their boat onto, but her eyes were only met with steep slopes and trees. There didn't seem to be hope of a resting point for at least another half mile.

Suddenly, she felt the canoe turn violently and jumped for the second time, turning to glare at Ichigo in alarm. Said idiot was turning them towards the bank. Her eyes widened when she worked out what he was going to do.

"Ichigo, you fool! We can't get up there! It's too steep!"

"Che," he replied darkly. "Watch me." With that, he jumped out of the boat and splashed into the river. Using only one hand, he grabbed the canoe and brought it over as closely as possible to the steep riverbank, twisting the vessel parallel. His other hand reached out towards Rukia and stayed there, suspended in air, as she stared at it dumbly.

"What?" she asked, unmoving.

Ichigo extended his hand further and looked at it, then her, pointedly. "I'm not gonna wait forever." When she didn't move after 30 prolonged, awkward seconds, Ichigo dropped his hand and sighed. "Look, are you gonna get out or what?" He stuck his hand out again and waited. Rukia only blinked at him, causing him to growl in frustration. "I'm getting wet here," he complained.

"All right, all right!" she finally gave in, putting her small hand in his large one. He easily pulled her out and, letting go of the canoe for a minuscule second, swung her on top of the bank. "Thank you," she mumbled quietly.

He froze. His shocked eyes darted to hers, and seemed to be searching for any ridicule in them. When he found none, he adverted his eyes and shrugged. "You're welcome." They were quiet for a moment, standing awkwardly, him in the water, her only slightly above him on solid ground, before he bent down and picked up the canoe easily and lifted it to shore as well.

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he actually _was_ decent. Maybe she had judged him too harshly.

"Whew, that was ten times lighter without you in it."

Or not.

It was going to be a long three days.

* * *

><p><em>AN: O.O I can't believe I actually finished that._

_I hope you all enjoyed it. ^.^ I am going back and forth between letting this be a LONG story (probably about 25 chapters) or a short one that only consists of the canoe trip. I guess your feedback will be helpful in that department! ;)_

_The title actually doesn't have anything to do with the story (that I know of thus far, haha, I'm writing it as I go). It's simply because most of this was written while listening to Katie Costello and this seemed the most applicable for a title. :)_

_I honestly don't know when the next chapter will be out. Sorry. I have never done an AU story before, so I don't know how well I write them or how long it will take for me to get what I want to get out. Hopefully by the time this is over, I'll have a better idea for the next one. :)_

_To all of my _Reasons _or_ Alphabet Soup_ readers, I AM SO SORRY! You wouldn't believe the weeks I've had. And I promise to get something up soon, especially for _Alphabet._ And to people I owe PMs, I am also sorry! For some reason, I have been unable to view that page lately. Well, I kinda gave up last week, so I'm going to try again now. Here's hoping it works! And if not, please, please, PLEASE bear with me! I'm working on it. And don't worry, I don't hate you and I don't have anything against you. I just haven't been able to reply. :(_

_Truthfully, I'm just glad I could write at all. I've been having trouble lately. :/_

_PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know what you think and review. I don't care how short it is or what you say, just let me know how you felt about it. It really helps me. So before you push that back button or little 'x' or (if I'm lucky!) favorite/follow, click on that sexy Review button first! I'd really appreciate it. ^.^_


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